8 February 2013

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending one of the Pitch Dark Dark Days tour events. This was especially exciting for me because not only did I get to meet four fabulous HarperTeen authors, but I got to meet a few of my favorite authors, period: Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi, Cynthia Hand, and Brodi Ashton.

Veronica, Tahereh, Cynthia, and Brodi. (All as friendly and generous as their twitter personalities!)

V and Tahereh are the sweetest, guys. The sweetest.

These lovely ladies dropped by the Harvard Coop for a little discussion panel and signing. They chatted about their series and shared some fun anecdotes. I wish I took notes, but here’s a few fun things I remember off the top of my head:

• Adam has a bird tattoo on his chest. So does Tahereh Mafi’s brother. This made for an awkward Thanksgiving dinner in the Mafi house after said brother read SHATTER ME. (Tahereh also taught us some tumblr lingo. You know…Ships…and buckets of creys.)
• Cynthia Hand’s favorite scene to write in BOUNDLESS–without spoiling anything–starts on p342. Coincidentally, this was hands-down my favorite scene in the book as well.
• Given her background as an oil painter, Veronica Rossi is an extremely visual writer. She always tries to craft as clear a picture with words as she can with a brush. (She was also wearing the same boots as Brodi, but attendees were miraculously able to tell them apart.)
• Brodi Ashton didn’t start writing until after she became a mom. She said, and I quote, “I put Baby in a corner.” (Brodi also claimed she’d never met Snarkles before, which the other authors said was a blatant lie. Verdict is still out on who’s telling the truth.)

Unrelated to the panel, I must mention that I met Alison Lisnow, HarperTeen publicist extraordinaire. She’s a sweetheart and her fashion sense is as sharp as rumored. (Just look at her pants!) I also had the pleasure of meeting a few blogger/reader/writer acquaintances from the interwebs! *waves* OH, and let’s not forget about Snarkles!

Snarkles and I are now best friends.

All in all, it was a blast. Even though I felt like I already “knew” some of these authors via twitter/email/etc, it was wonderful to finally “meet” in person.

Now I’m back home with my newly signed books, hunkered down as the blizzard hits pretty much all of New England. Looks like I’ll be snowed in on my birthday! Boo! But hey, at least I have a birthday video chat to look forward to with writer besties Sarah Maas and Susan Dennard–another two relationships that started online! (My, how the internet is wonderful.)

Hope everyone facing the storm stays warm and safe! And you might want to keep an eye on the blog next week. It’s nearly time for another ARC giveaway for TAKEN. :)

Posted in Epic Fun and tagged with Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Dark Days, events, Pitch Dark, signings, Tahereh Mafi, Veronica Rossi